


A Goat at Gillette Stadium

by TheDragonWriter2000



Category: National Football League RPF
Genre: Belichick is so done with these guys, Brady is a concerned dad, Gen, Jules is just a dork, Minor hints of Edelmandola, baby goats - Freeform, literal fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-18 23:05:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20199652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDragonWriter2000/pseuds/TheDragonWriter2000
Summary: “Now, I want you to be on your best behavior,” Brady orders with an exasperated sigh as he leans back into the driver’s seat. He then rubs his exhausted eyes, “I can't have you causing any trouble during practice today. With the first preseason game being in a few days, no one, especially the rookies, can get distracted.” The now 42-year-old Patriots' quarterback cranes his neck and grunts in relief at the popping sounds, “You’re to stay put, listen to whoever's watching you," he grimaces when he realizes that he has absolutely no idea who will actually do so, "and most importantly, don’t embarrass the team…or me in front of the team.” He then looks down to his little passenger sitting beside him, “Do I make myself clear?”Small beady eyes with square pupils stare back at him, “Bahahahahah…”Brady nods his head before looking back out the window, scoffing at himself in disbelief, “And I am talking to a frickin' goat. Great,” he grumbles.





	A Goat at Gillette Stadium

**Author's Note:**

> Uh…hey…umm…so…I’m obviously new to this fandom. 
> 
> I'm Fina Draco, and this is just a quick fic that I thought of after reading a story from a friend of mine in another fandom. It’s silly and dumb, but I thought, ‘why not?’ Plus, I kinda wanted to write something for Tom Brady's 42nd birthday (even though that was like ages ago). So...Happy super late Birthday Mr. Brady!! But Happy Birthday to the McCourty twins! And yay for the almost start of the 2019/20 football season. 
> 
> Now, because I am new, I apologize greatly for any OOC moments. I, personally, haven’t seen much of the Patriots or Brady on TV for a while, so I am a tad rusty in that sense.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is a work of fiction and doesn’t reflect any real events, thoughts, beliefs, or actions of the athletes. This is all for fun.
> 
> I don’t want to talk too much more, so please enjoy…

“Now, I want you to be on your best behavior,” Brady orders with an exasperated sigh as he leans back into the driver’s seat. He then rubs his exhausted eyes, “I can't have you causing any trouble during practice today. With the first preseason game being in a few days, no one, _especially_ the rookies, can get distracted.” The now 42-year-old Patriots' quarterback cranes his neck and grunts in relief at the popping sounds, “You’re to stay put, listen to whoever's watching you," he grimaces when he realizes that he has absolutely no idea who will actually do so, "and most importantly, don’t embarrass the team…or _me_ in front of the team.” He then looks down to his little passenger sitting beside him, “Do I make myself clear?”

Small beady eyes with square pupils stare back at him, “_Bahahahahah…”_

Brady nods his head before looking back out the window, scoffing at himself in disbelief, “And I am talking to a frickin' goat. _Great,_” he grumbles.

How did he get here? How did he get to this point in his career?

Looking back down at the brown and black, baby Oberhasli goat strapped to the passenger seat of his car, Brady nearly bursts into hysterical laughter at the absurdity of it all. Apparently, some of his relatives thought it’d be funny to gift him with a baby goat for his birthday of all things. Logically, he could simply return the baby goat, reasoning that it’d be impossible for his family to take care of such a small animal. But then his own kids fell in love with the kid, going so far as to name him Ted for obvious reasons. Brady groans at the memory, not sure whether to be thankful or concerned that his own children have yet to fully realize what that movie with the talking teddy bear is really about.

Needless to say, it was his kids against him and his wife. While Gisele managed to hold firm, one look at those three pairs of puppy-dog eyes and Brady knew he lost. Though, his children's happy screaming and joyful laughter as they play with the new member of their family, makes Gisele's disapproving glare, the broken lamp, and now his inevitable humiliation almost worth it.

Sighing for what felt like the millionth time that morning alone, Tom finally gathers what remains of his dignity and gets out of the car. Once he gathered his stuff from the trunk, Tom then turns his attention to the baby goat still strapped to his passenger seat. The tiny creature is looking up at him and seems to be pawing at the seat in excitement and anticipation of finally getting out of the car. Brady will admit that the little thing is pretty adorable. At least today should be a pretty easy day, with the main focus being on running through plays with the rookies and other lower-string players, so he can keep a closer eye on Ted.

Picking up the small creature and cradling him in his free arm as gently as possible, Tom makes his way towards the locker rooms of Gillette Stadium, bracing himself for the inevitable onslaught of teasing and jokes from the other players. Meanwhile, the baby goat is looking up and around at the new environment with almost an excited, gleeful look on its small face, nearly falling out of Tom's arms as it wiggles with energy. Tom shakes his head again and adjusts his hold, being mindful not to crush Ted. On the way, he did garner some odd looks from curious workers, but none are willing to question the legendary quarterback as to why he has a squirming baby goat in his arm. Tom thanks the heavens for this one small act of miracle.

_‘If I’m lucky, I might be able to just sneak in and no one will noti…’_ Brady thinks to himself as he opens the locker room doors, only to be met with the smiling face of his star wide receiver.

“And here’s the GOAT man himself! Mr. Tom Brady!!” Julian Edelman announces loudly so now the entire locker room has their eyes on the quarterback.

Tom grunts through gritted teeth, “Thanks, Jules. Really needed that right now,” sarcasm oozing from his voice.

“Any time bubs,” the younger player then finally looks down at the stock-still goat in Brady’s arm and clasps a hand over his gaping mouth, “Is that a…”

“Jules…wai…”

_“…baby goat!!??”_

This definitely grabs the other players’ attention, and soon, Brady is swarmed by an army of young men wanting to see the baby goat. Some even have their phones out to document this iconic moment.

All the while, the poor little creature is positively shaking at the sudden influx of attention, loud noises, and flashes from cameras. Bleating in terror, it tries to burrow itself into Brady’s arm. Tom sees this, and a feeling all too familiar as a father overtakes him. Dropping his stuff and throwing his now free arm over the terrified baby goat, Tom exclaims, “Hey! Back off!” Those closest to him immediately stop and back-up a step or two from the fuming quarterback, knowing better than to push the quarterback's buttons.

“Ok, man. We’re cool,” James White says as he puts his hands up as a sign of surrender, though the older man’s dad glare has the running back flinching back even more.

As the situation calms down, and some of the coaching staff come in and wrangled the players to get them ready, Jules finally turns back to the star quarterback and nearly coos at the sight before him. Tom Brady is holding the goat like it’s a baby and humming lightly to it while also rubbing its back soothingly.

“One more word Edelman…and I will make sure coach benches you for the first five games of the season,” Brady warns without even looking up.

Jules shrugs but does saddle up to the older man to have a closer look at the kid, “What’s the story with this little guy?”

“His name is Ted,” Brady says as he grabs his stuff and makes his way further into the locker room, Edelman right at his heels and snickering at the reference, “He’s a gift from some distant relatives.”

“Let me guess,” Jason McCourty butts in as he slips on his practice jersey, “kids got attached, and you can’t say no?”

“On the nose,” Tom sighs.

“Man, that’s rough,” Jules then gestures to the goat, “but still, why’s the little guy here today? A football field isn’t exactly a place for a baby goat.”

Tom shoots him a look that screams ‘you think I don’t know that?’, and Edelman rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

“Gisele’s out of town, and the kids are away at a summer camp. No one’s at the house, and I really don’t want this little guy all alone without a pen or something.” 

“Makes sense,” Jules then reaches out and rubs the goat’s head gently. The baby shies from the touch at first, but then he warms up to the man's gentle touch and is pressing into Jules's palm.

"Couldn't you get a babysitter or a goat-sitter - is that a thing? - or something?" Devin McCourty asks from beside his brother. 

"Everything was kinda last minute. Besides, who the heck would want to babysit a goat?"

Jason, Devin, and Jules share a look before they all start ticking things off with their fingers, "Fanboys, fangirls, Patriots' fanatics, nearly 90% of Bostonians..."

"Okay, okay...I get it," Brady chuckles as he holds the baby goat closer and continues rubbing its back. 

“Mr. Brady…Coach Belichick is asking for…” an assistant approaches them with a clipboard in hand.

“Tell him I’ll be out in a moment,” Tom stops the young man with a firm nod before looking back down at the young goat in his arms.

“Oh, right,” Edelman slaps his forehead, “I just remembered! Coach just changed the schedule! All starters are running drills first thing!”

“What?!” Brady whips his head around and stares bewildered at his wide receiver.

“He just did this morning! We have to hurry!” Jules immediately scrambles to put on the rest of his gear.

“But…” Tom looks back down at Ted, who looks up to him and cuddles up to his chest.

“You go get ready," Jules then pats him on the back, as soon as he's done, "I’ll take care of Teddy.”

Tom wants to argue, but at the same time, he knows that he's already late. So, with with a parting rub on the back, he gently drops Ted into Jules’s waiting arms, “Please…just be careful with him.”

Jules smirks and pulls the baby goat closer to him, cooing at the cute little guy. Ted freaks out at first and tries to wiggle his way out of the wide receiver’s firm grip, but soon settles when the man begins to rock him gently, spewing a bunch of nonsensible baby-talk in front of the other guys shamelessly. Tom rolls his eyes and gets ready for another day of practice and drills.

A little while later, Brady is just checking over his helmet when Edelman approaches him. He’s immediately concerned when he doesn’t see Ted with the wide receiver.

“Jules…where’s…”

But the younger man simply waves his hand nonchalantly, “I gave him to an assistant. She’ll watch him during practice.”

Brady looks at him skeptically, but trusts the man with his word. “What’d you say to her?” he asks as he slaps the helmet pump onto Edelman’s chest playfully, to which the other man snorts and grabs the pump.

“Oh, you know…just laid on the Julian Edelman charm…used some of my _best_ one-liners…cuddled with Ted a bit…it was easy.”

Tom arches an eyebrow and gives him a deadpan look, “She just took Ted, did she?”

Jules momentarily flashes back to how the young woman simply squealed and promised to watch Ted without even sparing the football player a second look and winces. “Maybe…”

The quarterback laughs heartily, and, together, the two make their way out to the field. On the way, Tom immediately starts thinking about their first preseason game. His _19th_ first preseason game. Just thinking about that makes the quarterback realize how old he is.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, man?” Jules startles Tom out of his thoughts.

Quick to dispel his dark thoughts, Tom turns to smile at Jules, “Just thinking about the upcoming game against the Lions.” Edelman chuckles, but then his bright smile slowly fades. Now it’s his turn to look deep in thought. Brady sees this and stiffens. He knows all too well who his friend is thinking about, and the responsible team leader side of him is rearing its ugly head, “He might be there. Think you can keep your head in the g…?”

“You just focus on motivating the rookies,” Jules utters harshly, giving Tom a sideways glare, “And let me handle my own crud.” Without waiting for Tom’s reply, Jules walks ahead out to the field, leaving Brady behind to stew in his own guilt, _'Smooth moves there, Brady.'_

* * *

The first half of practice wasn't too bad. In fact, things are mostly going well. While the drills had been grueling, once the team starts running through plays, things have calmed down for a bit. As Brady is looking over some more routes with Coach Belichick, he looks up in time to see a young woman in coaching staff gear rushing out to the field and scanning the sidelines frantically.

She then scurries over to Edelman, and the two huddle away from the other players and staff members, whispering to each other in an urgent manner. Tom shakes his head and is about to turn his attention back to the field when he sees Jules suddenly straighten up, running both hands through his sweaty hair, and whipping his head frantically back and forth as if he’s looking for something. The young woman looks as if she’s close to bursting into tears as she too looks all around. Jules then grabs the woman’s shoulders and says something to her that seems to calm her down, and the two part ways, searching high and low along the sidelines.

Tom is suspicious and approaches his wide receiver who’s crouching under one of the drinks stations. “Jules? What’s going on?”

Edelman snaps his head up and, with perfect comedic timing, smacks his head against the stand above him. Rubbing his aching head and crawling out sheepishly as if he just got caught with a hand in the cookie jar, Jules smiles overly sweetly at the older man, “Brady…hey there.”

“Jules…”

"Oh, boy were those drills awful!"

"Julian..."

"I mean...if _I_ thought it was tough, could only imagine how you're feeling right now...hehe," he chuckles nervously, refusing to look at Brady in the eye.

Brady is tired and definitely not willing to deal with any of this bull, "EDELMAN!"

“Ted is missing!” Jules blurts out at the speed of lightning, “It’s not the woman’s fault! She was watching him, but then one of the rookies asked her to look at…”

The rest of Jules’s frantic rant is lost on Tom as his mind fully processes the man’s first words. Ted. Is. Missing. Ted, the baby goat, is lost at Gillette Stadium.

Tom’s eyes widen as fear and worry for the small creature consume his thoughts, and he grabs Jules’s jersey in a vice-like grip, looking down at him harshly, “We need to find him now! He could get hurt!”

Jules clamps his mouth shut and nods. The two quickly excuse themselves and go to find the young woman, who apologizes repeatedly and desperately as they search for the baby goat along the sideline, earning them strange looks from some of the players.

“I’m so fired,” the young woman mutters miserably, leaning against the wall and sliding down to hug her knees, burying her face in her arms. As Edelman tries to console her, Brady is looking through the equipment scattered along the sideline and under benches and tables. But it’s no use, Ted is not anywhere on the field.

“Brady? What are you doing all the way over here?” Jason asks as he takes a sip of his drink.

Brady looks all around to make sure no one else is listening before telling him in a subdued voice, “Ted is missing!”

Jason does an impressive spit-take before gaping at the older man, “What?!”

Tom wipes some of the water off his cheek before answering, “He’s nowhere on the field! He could be anywhere by now! Oh god. What if he’s hurt?! What if someone took him?! What if…?!” As Brady goes into a panicked tirade, he doesn’t see the concerned look from the cornerback, who’s never once seen Tom Brady lose his cool like this, and it’s seriously freaking him out.

“Okay…Tom…Tom,” Jason says as calmly as possible, even though on the inside he’s worried for the young goat as well. “We’ll find him. He must have gone inside to avoid the crowds.”

Tom takes a deep breath and nods. With the young woman staying outside to monitor the sideline, Jules, Tom, and Jason all rush into the stadium to search for the lost baby goat, splitting up to cover more ground.

“Ted!” Tom calls out as he searches the locker room and open offices.

“Teddy! Come out, little buddy!” Jules yells as he rushes up and down the labyrinth of hallways of the massive stadium and scans the employees' sections.

“Ted! Ted!” Jason also does some small whistles, not even knowing if the goat knows how to respond to whistles, as he checks the visitors' areas, concession stands, and restrooms, earning him an ear-splitting shriek and a sneaker thrown at his head when he opened the women's restroom without checking to see if anyone's in there.

After a few minutes, they all meet up in the middle of an empty hallway.

“Did you find him?!” Jules gasps as he catches his breath from his sprint.

Jason rolls his eyes, leaning forward and bracing himself on his knees, “Yes, Jules! He's just standing so still that he's invisible!”

Before Jules can retort, “What the hell’s going on here?! Where have you guys been?!” the three men look up in time to see Devin jogging up to them, his face scrunched up in anger. “Coach B and Pellegrino are looking for you!”

Groaning, the three men haphazardly explain to the other McCourty the situation, and the twin’s anger quickly dissipates. Even he is now worried for the little guy.

“Still, we have to go. We can notify the stadium staff to be on the lookout for Ted,” Devin says as he leads the guys back out to the field.

As soon as they step out into the afternoon sun, the first things they hear immediately grab their attention.

“There’s a small goat on the field!!!”

“Quick! Catch it!”

It's like a bucket of ice water was dumped on his head, “Ted!!” Without even thinking, Tom rushes out to the field and quickly sees Ted running down the field in the opposite direction and dodging all the players trying to catch him.

Bleating and crying, Ted swerves around players left and right. Brian Hoyer dives for the goat from the right, only to miss and faceplant on the turf. David Andrews tries the same thing from the left, only to miss as well. Ted bleats some more and continues to run around each of the players in his way. Michael Bennett jumps in front of Ted, but the little goat just runs under him through his legs. Several rookies try to surround the baby goat; however, when they rush in, they all end up crashing and piling onto each other. 

Ignoring the groaning football players in his wake, Ted makes a beeline for the sidelines straight towards the rack of footballs. Tom sees this and changes course as well. With no time to stop himself, Ted collides with the rack and knocks the balls all over, tripping some of the assistants and ball boys. Ryan Allen stands before the shaking goat and shouts gleefully, "Gotcha!!"

_"Bahaha!"_ the goat bleats before dashing around the punter, just as he launches forward and lands in the ball pile. Ted rushes down the sideline, going under and around tables and benches and staff members along the way. Rushing down the sidelines himself, Brady had to quickly apologize to some of the people he shoves out of the way. But at least he's catching up to Ted...just a little bit more...

Ted suddenly skids to a stop before an intimidating figure and, before he could run off again, is quickly picked up gently by two warm, weathered hands. Tom is panting for breath as he stops and bends over, resting his hands against his knees. Jules and the McCourty twins also join him, and the group looks up to see the stormy eyes of Coach Bill Belichick gazing at them with a judgemental look that could only be described as that of a disappointed grandpa. 

"Coach!" Brady gasps as he stands up straighter. 

Belichick stops Brady from saying anything else with one look, making the star quarterback clamp up immediately. His eyes then sweep the field and sidelines, seeing the mess that's been left and the players scattered all around. Taking a deep, slow breath and seeming to pray to whatever deity out there that's listening for strength, Belichick looks down at the baby goat, who looks up at him nervously with big, adorable eyes. Without a word, Belichick walks up and hands the goat over to Brady, who quickly draws the small creature closer to his chest in relief. 

The coach then finally turns to the rest of the staring team and staff members and bellows, "What are you standing around for?! Clean this up and get back to work!" Scrambling, they all do as the coach says. Coach Belichick pinches the bridge of his nose before turning to face a sheepish Brady, "Next time, warn at least the staff that you're bringing a frickin' petting zoo to practice."

Tom nods, though smiles when he sees the older man smile just a bit at Ted. Maybe Ted managed to win over...

"Oh, don't think you're off the hook. We're gonna have a long talk after this," Belichick gives his star quarterback a firm look before walking off, "And get that kid a jersey!"

Tom sighs. He then looks down at the now sleeping goat in his arms and chuckles.

Man, what a day.

**Author's Note:**

> Lol, I have no idea what any of that was. Not my best writing, but at least it was fun.
> 
> Thoughts? Questions? Let me know what you think in the comments below! Thanks for reading this silly little fic!
> 
> Also, follow me on:  
Twitter - [@SerephinaD](https://twitter.com/SerephinaD)  
Tumblr - [The Dragon Writer](https://serephinadraco.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And check out my other stories!


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